MiRACLE (KnB Fanfic)

17.

"Hey, Aisaka's playing!"

"Really? C'mon, let's go watch!"

"Wait, what's the commotion about?"

"Dude, this is one basketball player you cannot pass on seeing."

There's a crowd around the streetball tournament and it's growing with the bustle of the rumours in the school. In the center of the field, Aisaka pulls on the yellow team bib, tightening the strap on his wrist brace.

"You sure the brace is fine?" Aomine looks at him, panting from the run.

From the benches, a senior raises a thumbs up in their direction, an ice pack at his foot.

Aisaka laughs, twirling his ankle and stretching out a little, "of course! The girls blew it dry with the hairdryer out back so it's super nice and warm right now."

Their opponents were a set of college sophomores. There were no age limits on the tournament bracket, just height limits, and Teiko fully expected to lose some matches (contrary to popular belief) for posterity purposes.

"What, I wondered what you were doing running off in that time out, you brought back another kid?" Mean Guy #1 scoffs, "couldn't you at least bring a taller kid? This is the above 180s bracket, y'know. How tall's this one? 170?"

"Now now, you know what they said, apparently their first string club members have to play a bracket higher for fairness purposes," Mean Guy #2 says, a pitch to his voice that was only satirical empathy, "so we have to play with the little babies if it makes them feel better about themselves."

Aisaka's face twists into a frown.

Aomine laughs.

The score is at 48 to 27 in the other team's favour, and the whistle blows for the second half to begin.

Aisaka and Aomine's eyes meet for the briefest of moments. Their side loses the tip off, but Aisaka is the one who scoops the ball up from the enemy's pass.

It takes them by surprise. Mean Guy #2 yells at Mean Guy #3 for not paying attention. The crowd roars.

Aisaka thrusts forward one step, two steps-- he brings the ball up with one arm, and lobs it in the direction of the hoop.

Mean Guy #4 jumps for an interception, but falls short on the timing.

Aisaka turns to Aomine when he lands-- and the gaze in his eyes is feral, hungry. His brows are furrowed and there's a concentration in his movements that he rarely shows.

Aomine breaks into the widest grin he can, not only out of excitement, but because he's utterly terrified.

"Ahh," he mutters at a volume the rival team can hear, "he's angry."

The crowd never seems to stop cheering, and really, Aomine revels in the attention.

-

"They're pretty tall for junior high schoolers, but against college students I guess they really do seem shorter," Nijimura muses, manning the referee stand, "but in terms of skills... I mean, Teiko has its name for a reason, but this year's rookies are a special case in itself."